Formatting an external harddrive

Forgive me if this is a repeat thread, i searched and didn't find anything.

I have an 320 gig external hd that has about 100 gigs of info on it.(mainly music) I used it on me pc before I got my mac, so it is in ntsf(or whatever windows format). It is not in Fat 32. I need to convert it so I can use it with my mbp.

Would it be possible to partition about 200 gigs of the empty space, and then format that into Fat 32, then move all of the data over to that side and format the other then remove the partition? If it is possible, how do I go about doing it?

You could try some Windows applications (like Partition Magic) to create a new partition, and then try what you want to do. Or, on a Mac, you could try iPartition to do the same thing.

However, utils that mess with partition maps on the fly always have the possibility of ****ing up and you loose it all.
So the ONLY "safe" way is to offload the data, do what you want to do, and then upload the data.

I am not aware of any current utility (apart from Boot Camp) that can partially partition a drive without deleting the current info on it. This article about MacDrive may be of interest but I do not think it is your solution.

There may or may not be a utility that can do what you want for the first step, the partial partition, but I am almost positive that there is no utility out there that can remove a partition without deleting all of the drive's data. Someone else may have a wiser word to add, though.

You could try some Windows applications (like Partition Magic) to create a new partition, and then try what you want to do. Or, on a Mac, you could try iPartition to do the same thing.

However, utils that mess with partition maps on the fly always have the possibility of ****ing up and you loose it all.
So the ONLY "safe" way is to offload the data, do what you want to do, and then upload the data.

Not to be an alarmist, just warning you of the possibilities.

Click to expand...

Concur with Partition Magic. It's a good app.

But you never know if it will hickup.

The problem with a NTFS formatted HD is that it has file/folder protections that a FAT32 partition does not.

To the OP, definitely back up your data before you attempt anything.

Yes, there are utilities that will change a NTFS formatted drive to a FAT32.

I would suggest getting another external HD and and transferring your files to it, then reformatting the original HD. Then you can use it for a back up. With HD prices so cheap these days it's almost a no brainer.

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